Max/MSP is a graphical programming environment, which means you create your own software using a visual toolkit of objects, and connect them together with patch cords. The basic environment that includes MIDI, control, user interface, and timing objects is called Max. Built on top of Max are hundreds of objects, including two powerful collections from Cycling '74:

MSP, a set of audio processing objects that do everything from interactive filter design to hard disk recording.

Jitter, a set of matrix data processing objects optimized for video and 3-D graphics.

Max Features:

Create and run an arbitrary number of applications and tasks, depending on the memory and processing speed of your computer.

An easy-to-use cross-platform SDK for extending the software that's been adopted by a large community of users letting Max do everything from networking to statistics. (Check out the Max/MSP Resource Guide for some examples.).

MSP Features:

Over 150 objects covering all the basic elements of synthesis, sampling, and signal processing.

MME, DirectSound, and ASIO audio hardware support on Windows, and Core Audio support on Mac OS X. Customize and save hardware interface setups to optimize for low latency or greater CPU efficiency.